THE SAFE SCHOOL STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION IN RESPONSE TO A CONGRESSIONAL REQUEST TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE. DATA ARE BASED ON A MAIL SURVEY OF MORE THAN 4,000 SCHOOLS AND ON-SITE SURVEYS OF 642 SCHOOLS, PLUS CASE STUDIES OF 10 SCHOOLS. STATISTICAL METHODS USED TO OVERCOME SAMPLING ERROR AND PROJECT FIGURES ARE DETAILED. IT WAS FOUND THAT ALTHOUGH SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND VANDALISM INCREASED DURING THE 1960'S, THEY HAVE LEVELED OFF SINCE THE EARLY 1970'S, AND THERE ARE SOME HINTS OF A DECLINE. STILL, ABOUT 8 PERCENT OF THE NATION'S SCHOOLS HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH CRIME. SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM THAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, AND SCHOOLS IN THE NORTHEAST AND WEST ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE PROBLEMS THAN SCHOOLS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN STATES. RISKS OF PERSONAL VIOLENCE ARE HIGHER IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS THAN IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND ARE HIGHER IN LARGER COMMUNITIES. ABOUT 2.4 MILLION SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (11 PERCENT) HAVE SOMETHING STOLEN FROM THEM IN A TYPICAL MONTH. ABOUT 1.3 PERCENT (282,000) REPORT BEING ATTACKED EACH MONTH. RELATIVELY FEW ARE INJURED SERIOUSLY ENOUGH TO NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION. AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS, ABOUT 12 PERCENT (130,000) HAVE SOMETHING STOLEN IN A TYPICAL MONTH. SOME 5,200 ARE PHYSICALLY ATTACKED, ABOUT 1,000 NEEDING MEDICAL ATTENTION. AROUND 6,000 HAVE SOMETHING TAKEN FROM THEM BY FORCE OR THREATS. YOUNG TEENAGERS RUN A GREATER RISK OF VIOLENCE IN SCHOOL THAN ELSEWHERE EXCEPT IN HIGH CRIME NEIGHBORHOODS, WHERE SCHOOLS ARE SAFER THAN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. OVER 25 PERCENT OF ALL SCHOOLS SUFFER VANDALISM IN A GIVEN MONTH WITH AN AVERAGE COST PER ACT OF VANDALISM OF $81. TEN PERCENT OF SCHOOLS ARE BURGLARIZED AT A COST PER BURGLARY OF $183. THE ANNUAL COST OF SCHOOL CRIME IS AN ESTIMATED $200 MILLION. MOST OFFENSES ARE COMMITTED BY CURRENT STUDENTS. VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS ARE GENERALLY OF THE SAME AGE AND SEX (USUALLY MALE) AND USUALLY OF THE SAME RACE. THE CHANCES OF INTERRACIAL VIOLENCE ARE HIGHEST IN SCHOOLS WHERE STUDENTS OF ONE RACE OUTNUMBER THOSE OF ANOTHER. VIOLENCE TEMPORARILY INCREASES AFTER COURT-ORDERED DESEGREGATION, BUT LATER THE SCHOOLS RETURN TO THEIR FORMER PATTERNS. CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES SUGGESTED INCLUDE SPECIALLY DESIGNED LOCKS, SAFES, AND WINDOW AND DOOR ALARMS. BETTER TRAINING FOR SCHOOL SECURITY PERSONNEL IS ALSO RECOMMENDED. IN THE CASE STUDIES THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAFE SCHOOLS AND VIOLENT SCHOOLS WAS FOUND TO BE A STRONG, DEDICATED PRINCIPAL WHO SERVED AS A ROLE MODEL FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, AND WHO INSTITUTED A FIRM, FAIR, AND CONSISTENT SYSTEM OF DISCIPLINE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--GLR)